Refrigerating apparatus



' ,JulyA 9, 1935. A. v. RuDD ErAL REFBIGERATING APPARATUS Filed April 18, `1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l ALBA-'RT V @una CHARLES .ASHLEK JulyA 9, 1935. lA. v. RUDD Er 11M.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed April 1a, 1930 s 'sheets-sheet s o a A e |||ln. |1: ||w. J J 1 7) 9 Il f. M Q n u u n n 0 Il n 9 m E -IL E FL l .lull` I J. J/ FV c Patented rJuly 9, 193s y i `2,007,837

i UNITED sTAiEs'fPATENT oFvFicE REI-*meneame APPARATUS Albert V. Rudd, St. Louis, and Charles L. Ashley. Webster Groves, Mo., assignors to Rudd Eng-lneering Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri I Application April 18, 1930, Serial No; 445,368

20 Claims. (Cl. 62 -1l4) Our invention relates toimprovements in re- The pipes l2 are provided With the heads 01 frlgerating apparatus, and more particularly re- .nozzles I3, the bore I I and pipes I2 serving to lates to the refrigeration of fish, meat and other -lnaintain e Supply f a Suitable refrigerant foodstuils.` Among the objects of our invention within the hollow interior of the drum A, the level d are to provide a series of compartments or units of said refrigerant being determined by the open 5 each of a size adapted to hold a unitary parcel of` mouth of. the' outlet pipe I6. which extends into sh or meat products and refrigerate suchparcel the hollow Shaft .C and communicates with the in convenient size and shape for being distributed outlet bore Il.

and sold at retail to the ultimate consumer. We have provided the drum A-wlth the in- Y Such preparation of the specied food products vsulating jacket IB and the Stationary chilling l0 is intended to render the product readily handled tank I9 interposed between the periphery 0f the by the dealer and to avoid the necessity of tying, drum I0 and the insulating .ieoket'l (See` F152) boxing or other extraneous means for maintainthus providing t e annuler Channel 20 between ing the shape oi' the refrigerated food product; the outer Wall l0 0f the drum A and the inner to reduce nllets of sh, and'cuts of meat (such as Wall of. the tank I9. The periphery of the. drum 15 steaks, chops, etc.) into substantial refrigerated A is provided with the series ot compartments, blocks which may be conveniently protected from Dockets or units 2|, each provided With e lid 22. the atmosphere, dust, dirt, or other contaminasaid lids 22 being hinged, as indicated by 23, to a tion, by means of wrappings of suitable material. base-plate 24. Each of the base-plates 24 is Other advantages and results of our invention mounted upon a pin 25. thel Pin 25` eXtending A20 will be made evident by the appended description. through brackets 26 and through Vthe coiled Drawings spring 21; each of the pins ,25 is screw-threaded l at its inner end and provided with the nut 28 In the drawings- (see Fig. 5). In front of the charging end of our g5 Fig. 1 is a top plan view oi' a device embodying apparatusl iS a receiving table- 29 to which the 25 our invention.v material. to Vbe refrigerated is brought by the Fig. 2 is a vertical mid-sectional view of the conveyors IMJ- 30, the product being delivered to same, taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. l. the table 29 in suitable cut blocks to be accom-I Fig. 3 is a transverse mid-sectional view of the modated by the units 2 I.

130 same, taken on the line 3.3 of Fig. 1. The uppermost compartment 2| having a block 30l units.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail plan view of the or parcel of the food product placed therein, the locking and releasing mechanism'for the lids or corresponding lid 22 advances with the rotation covers of the refrigerating compartments or of the drum A to the point where it encounters the pressure-roller-3l, by which saidlid 22.y is Fig. 5 isa side elevation of one of .said refrigclosed and its free `end engaged in one of the 35 erating compartments in place upon the periphserrated notches 32 on the plunger 33, which ery of the 'refrigerating drum. plunger`33 is kept in normally distended position Fig- 61S 8. plan View ofthe latehing mechanism. by the coiled springs 34 (see Fig. 8), the pocket which engages the compartment lids, the trip Din or u nit 2| thus being charged with its content is 40 vbeine in locking position. taken on line G-e of rotated through the ehanne12u until it reaches a 4 Fig. 5- I point .approximately at the level of the discharge Fie. 7 is a view slmilar to Fis.. 6. the trip pin table 35. When the trip-pin 36 encounters the being in releasing position. l tripping arm 31 (see Fig. 4) the iid 22 Vis opened Fig. 8 is a sectional view-of said latching mechby the withdrawal of thelatch 33 and the refrigmism 0f Figs- 6 and 7 taken 0n the line 8*@ 0f erated contentsof the unit 2i drops upon the 45 Fig* 6 guide 38 and is discharged upon the table 35. A Description The purpose of the serrations 32' upon the head As shown in the drawings in the form illus iS t0 accommodate Various thicknesses Ina"` trated. we employ the rotatable refrigerating terial Carried in the 2|-,

drum A mounted on the tubular shaft 15;y the shaft The hereinbefore described embodiment of our 50 Brotating upon the fixed shaft' A... .The drum A invention is particularly adapted for use with comprises the dished concave heads 9,4-9 and the a liquid refrigerant. any Suitable kind of which peripheral wall I 0. The nxedshaft' C'. has the may be employed; such as. for instance, brine, inlet bore II having a pluralityA oi'pipes I2 -ex but it is distinctly to be understood that the in- Jtending into the hollow interior oi the drum A. vention is not limited to the use of the ren-iger 55 ating unit of the type hereinbefore described with any particular refrigerant. It is advantageous to employ the same kind of refrigerant in both the drum and the chilling tank, but it is apparent 6 that the refrigerating unit will operate efficiently even though a different kind of refrigerant be employed in the drum from that which is employed in the chilling tank.

The degree of refrigeration to be maintained 10 Within the drum A is intended to be such as to administer the desired refrigeration-to the con- (tents of each of the units 2| during its progress from the mouth of the channel 20 to its exit at the other end (40), of said channel 20.

'I'he tubular shaft B is provided with a fixed sprocket 4 I, which sprocket is driven by any suitable source of power (not shown) to revolve the drum A. n

Various modifications of the structure thus illustrated and described may be effected without departure from our actual invention, as defined by the appended claims.

We claiml. In a device of the class described, a refrigerating drum, means for circulating a refrigerating medium within said drum; a compartment mounted on the periphery of said drum; a lid for said compartment arranged to compress the contents of said compartment; means for locking said lid in compressed position; and means for biasing said lid against the drum when locked in compressed position.

2. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a refrigerating drum; means for rotating said drum 35 while maintaining a constantly moving supply of refrigerant within said drum, a refrigerating unit mounted on the periphery of said drum: a closure for said unit; means operative upon movement of the drum to deect said closure and compress the contents of said unit; means for locking said closure during the refrigeration of its contents; means for unlocking said closure when the refrigeration of its contents is completed.

3. In a device of the class described, a refrigerating drum; means for rotating said drum; a series of refrigerating units mounted upon the periphery of said drum; a hinged lid mounted on each of said units; means for closing Isaid lids under pressure during the rotation of said drum; means for locking said lids in compressed position; and means associated with said drum for successively unlocking said lids and releasing the contents of said units.

4. In a device of the class described, a. refrigerating drum; means for rotating said drum; means for supplying the interior of said drum with refrigerant; means for continuously agitating said refrigerant within said drum; aseries of refrigerating units mounted upon the periphery of said drum; a hinged lid mounted on each of said units; means for closing said lids under pressure during the rotation of said drum; means for locking said lids in compressed position; and means associated with said drum for successively unlocking said lids and releasing the contents of said umts. v

5. In a refrigerating apparatus, in combination with a refrigerated channel; a conveying unit arranged to travel through said channel, and having a compressible hinged lid; in combination with means located at the entrance to said channel to compress and lock said lid, and means located at the exit from said channel to unlock said lid and effect the discharge of the refrigerated contents of said unit.

- 6. A refrigerating apparatus comprising, means forming a channel having an isolated body of refrigerant contiguous therewith, means for 5 transporting an article to be chilled through said channel in refrigerating relation to said body, means at the entrance to said channel for compressing the article,and means at the exit from said channel to release the article.

'7. A refrigerating apparatus comprising, means forming a channel having an isolated body of refrigerant contiguous therewith, a conveyor movable in said channel for transporting an article to be chilled, and means on said conveyor for 15 compressing the article at the entrance and releasing the article at the exit from the channel.

8. A refrigerating apparatus comprising, a movable member having an imperforate wall, a body of refrigerant on one kside of isaid wall, clamping means on the other side of said wall disposed to receive an article to be chilled, and a second body of refrigerant adjacent said clamping means and on the opposite side thereof from the first mentioned body. Y 9. A refrigerating apparatus comprising, a drumV having an imperforate peripheral wall forming a refrigerating surface of substantial area, a body of refrigerant on the interior of said drum, and a. series of devices on the exterior of said wall disposed to maintain articles to be chilled in contact therewith.

10. A refrigerating apparatus for freezing food products comprising, a movable tank having a quantity of liquidrefrigerant therewithin, a stationary tank having a quantity of liquid refrigerant therewithin, said stationary tank being spaced from and adjacent said movable tank to define a channel therebetween, means for retaining food product on said movable tank for movement through said channel, and means at the end of said channel to release the food product.

11. A refrigerating apparatus for freezing food products comprising, a movable tank having a quantity of liquid refrigerant therewithin, 'a stationary tank having a quantity of liquid refrigerant therewithin, said stationary tank beingspaced from and adjacent said movable tank to define a channel therebetween, and means for retaining food products on said movable tank during movement thereof through said channel.

12. A refrigerating apparatus for freezing food products comprising, a rotatable drum for containing a quantity of liquid refrigerant, a stationary tank partially surrounding said'drum, and spaced therefrom, said tank disposed to contain a quantity of liquid refrigerant, a plurality of compartments about the outer periphery of said drum, and means for compressing food products in said compartments during movement thereof in the region of said tank.

13. A refrigerating apparatus for freezing food products comprising, a rotatable drum for containing a quantity of liquid refrigerant, a stationary tank partially surrounding said drum, and spaced therefrom, said tank disposed to contain a quantity of liquid refrigerant, a plurality of compartments about the outer periphery of said drum, lids for said compartments, and resilient means on said lids for engagement with said tank during movement thereof to maintain said lids in closed position.

14. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a rotatable refrigerating drum; a series of compartments arranged around the' periphery oflsaid 75 drum; a lid for .each of said compartments-arranged to compress the contents; of said compartments, and resilient means for biasing said lids into compressing position.

15. A refrigerating apparatus comprising, a series of heat conducting wallsarranged for rotation aboutan axis, means for pressing products to be frozen against one side of said walls, a refrigerant conduit extending along said axis, and

tubes extending radially' from said conduit for delivering refrigerant adjacent the walls but on the opposite side thereof, from the product to be frozen.

16. A refrigerating apparatus comprising, a series of heat conducting walls arranged for rotation about an axis, means forpressing products to be frozen against one side of said walls, means for moving said pressing means into active position during rotation of the apparatus, a refrigerant conduit extending along said axis, and tubes extending radially from said conduit for delivering refrigerant adjacent the Walls but on the opposite side thereof from the product to be frozen.

1'7. A refrigerating apparatus comprising, a series of refrigerating compartmentsvmountec for,

rotation about an axis, said compartments having an imperforate refrigerated Wall and vacooperating member for holding a product in heat transferring relation with said wall, said cooperating member being resiliently mounted for bodily movement toward and away from said refrigerat`" ed wall, and means for supplying fresh refrigerant 'to the side of said wall opposite the product while the apparatus is rotating. l

18. An apparatus for freezing comestibles, com prising, a movable tank having `a quantity of fluid refrigerant therewithin, a stationary chilling tank, said stationary tank being spaced from andr adjacent said movable tank to denne a-channel therebetween, means for retaining comestibles on said movable tank for movementy through said channel, Iand means at `to release the comestibles.

19. An apparatus for freezing comestibles, comprising, a movable tank having a. quantity of fluid refrigerant therewithin, a stationary chilling tank, said stationary tank being Aspaced from and adjacent said movable tank to define a channel therebetween, and means for l retaining comestibleson `said movable tank during movement thereof through said channel. 20. An apparatus for freezing comestibles, comprising, a rotatable drum for containing a tank partially surrounding said drum, and spaced therefrom, a plurality of compartments about the outer periphery of said drum, and means for compressing comestibles in said compartments during movement thereof in the region of said tank.

ALBERT V.- RUDD.

CHARLES L. ASHLEY.

the end of said channel quantity of fluid refrigerant, a stationary chilling 

